


INTAKE DET. KENNETH W. HUTCHINSON

by Jacqueline_64



Series: The Post Gunther Sessions [7]
Category: Starsky & Hutch
Genre: Gen, Not Beta Read, Post-Episode: s04e22 Sweet Revenge, Psychology, Trauma, assessment, injuries, psychiatry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-20 20:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21287528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jacqueline_64/pseuds/Jacqueline_64
Summary: Notes from the department psychiatrist and hospital psychologist on the therapeutic sessions they had with Starsky and Hutch in the aftermath of the shooting.
Series: The Post Gunther Sessions [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1534526
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	INTAKE DET. KENNETH W. HUTCHINSON

**Author's Note:**

> Although not a part of my post Sweet Revenge series, I do use those stories as point of reference for the “Post Gunther Sessions” stories, by which I mean that any literary liberties (such as the explanation why Starsky is 32 in 1979 – see notes on The Journey; the length of the surgery on Starsky, the length of his coma) are the same as in the post Sweet Revenge series. The timeline of Hutch’s therepeutic sessions are mostly related to and the same as in Nine Days, also of the post Sweet Revenge series.

The most used disclaimer:  
The TV show "Starsky and Hutch", and the characters from it  
are the property of the persons who hold the copyrights  
and other legal rights to them.  
This story is a work of fiction, written for pleasure only  
and not for profit. It is not intended, in any way,  
to infringe on these preexisting copyrights.

# THE POST GUNTHER SESSIONS

Jacqueline©2019-09-20

## INTAKE DET. KENNETH W. HUTCHINSON,

**June 22, 1979 – 10:15 AM, Dr Phil La Rue, Bay City Metro**

  
  


  
  


**Request: **per request from Capt. Harold C. Dobey (Metro), intake consultation  
**Occasion:** stress related syptoms, complaints regarding conduct

**Report:  
**Per request from Capt. Dobey, Detective Sergeant first grade Kenneth W. (William) Hutchinson arrived at noted date and hour for his intake consultation. Will refer to him as KH in notes.

**First impression:**  
although both KH and myself have worked at Metro for several years, I do not recall ever having seen him before in or around the building. From his personnel file I could see he and his partner have been involved in several of the biggest, most demanding, cases of the past 10 years, most of which they have concluded succesfully. An impressive feat at his age of 36.  
College education, well-off, white collar background, yet the man that appeared in front of me did not look the part. Physically he seemed tired, older than his years, somewhat unkempt, suspicious, angry even. It was clear he did not seek contact with my office of his own accord,  
as a result of which the conversation was initially awkward.

**Consultation:  
**After some careful probing KH sarcastically revealed that, in his opinion, the whole exercise of him needing to seek psychiatric help was overdrawn. He described his current state of being (not of _mind_, but of _being_ – his words) as a completely logical and natural response to a shocking incident. KH claimed that the need for psychiatric help should only be mandated if after experiencing such a shocking incident he had **not **shown any difference in “being” at all.

Interestingly, KH used the word “incident” for at least 30 minutes, without any reference to what had actually happened. The walls were clearly up and he had dug an imaginary moat between his state of mind/of emotion, and the reality of the “incident”.

I slowly moved into the complaints that had lead Capt. Dobey to request this consultation for him; complaints about his behavior towards his partners. The word “partners” was an obvious trigger. KH’s sarcasm turned into hostility, though not exactly directed at me, nor even at our department’s policies or individuals. His anger seemed to be directed at something cosmic, something beyond control, something that made him (feel) powerless.

** _Note:  
_ ** _Prior to this consultation, I had been informed that KH’s partner, Detective sergeant first grade David Starsky, was the officer that was the unfortunate victim of an assassination attempt at Metro on May 15, this year, while I was at a week long Psychiatry Congress in Baltimore. Of course I pulled Det. Starsky’s file and learned that he and KH had not only been partners for 7 years, but had also been roommates while at the Police Academy. _

**Consultation (cont.):**  
After more probing, KH admitted this consultation was the first time he spoke about the “incident” with somebody outside his usual circle of friends or relatives. When asked why he referred to what happened as “the incident”, KH had trouble finding the right words to explain himself. It is obvious KH and Det. Starsky fit perfectly in the mold of the “ideal partnership” (reference: casefiles ZB1290-74 Keller/Zenow, UTW1721-72 Robinson/Dykstra, LQ6002-77 Harris/Abrahams et al) which is a deep commitment beyond just the hours on duty (reference: blue brotherhood etc.). The shooting of Det. Starsky took place almost 6 weeks prior to this consultation. All this time, KH has been suppressing his feelings.  
The only information regarding Det. Starsky’s current condition KH released to me after a tentative line of questioning was that he is currently still in hospital, barely survived the shooting, suffered massive – physical – damage and may not be able to return to his full potential. In any case, any level of rehabilitation will take a substantial amount of time, during which KH’s functioning looks to be problematic.

**Conclusion:**  
Given KH’s hostile attitude, clearly caused by his traumatic experience, my advice to him was to take up personal time. Since his years long bond with his partner, combined with the fact that KH was a witness to the near fatal shooting of said partner, has such an obvious effect on his current ability to function, I suggested he should see if and how he might want to be involved in his partner’s rehabilitation. This in the light of the blue brotherhood (see earlier note) and to alleviate his sense of powerlessness.  
With no direct follow-up date for another consultation, I will advice Capt. Dobey to limit KH’s hours on full duty and to consider KH for 80-100% personal time, once his partner will start his rehabilitation.


End file.
